Despite the fact that one in three U.S. adults is obese, claims adjusters often do not ask claimants about their height and weight during the initial intake process of a workers' comp claim, employers and consultants say.

Not only are obese workers comp claimants likely to miss more work days than healthy-weight co-workers with similar injuries, obese workers are likely to have higher medical costs and are more likely to become permanently disabled, research has shown.

The number of older U.S. workers will continue growing, perhaps at a greater pace than observers expected several years ago, because of the Great Recession's negative effect on worker savings, employers' desire to retain skilled workers, and rising health care costs that are keeping more older employees in the workforce

Overexertion—or injuries caused by lifting, pushing, pulling, holding and carrying—costs businesses $12.5 billon in direct annual expenses and accounts for more than 25 percent of the national burden, according to Liberty Mutual's Workplace Safety Index.

Edmondo Bemis—who smoked for 30 years according to the appellate court's ruling—eventually filed for workers' comp benefits, claiming that his work injury worsened until he needed the surgery and that he was totally disabled.